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Press Release
Gert G. Wagner, who served as a member of the German Institute for Economic Research's executive board from 2011 to 2017, will celebrate his 65th birthday on January 5. The economist and social scientist was the head of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) research infrastructure at DIW Berlin from 1989 to 2011 and developed it into the largest and longest-running long-term study on social and economic ...
04.01.2018
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Press Release
The Economic Barometer of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) dropped by four points in December to 109 points. However, the value above 100 still indicates above-average GDP growth in the fourth quarter by slightly more than half a percent when compared to the third quarter. "Economic growth in the final quarter will be somewhat weaker than before. Nonetheless, the bulging order ...
21.12.2017
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Press Release
Children from families who do not speak German as their main language at home often attend childcare facilities with children in similar situations – Policies providing financial incentives for facilities with a minimum percentage of children from migrant backgrounds shouldn’t be encouraged – Separate study shows that quality is strongly influenced by children's social behavior – ...
20.12.2017
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Press Release
Public purchases can make a valuable contribution to decarbonizing the economy – Despite an upward trend, only 2.4 percent of public contracts in Germany include green criteria – Policy action is needed in order to fully exploit the potential
Green public procurement, by which public authorities choose their suppliers of goods and services not only based on price but also according to ...
12.12.2017
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Press Release
The introduction of the minimum wage in Germany led to significant increases in wages –– However, around seven percent of eligible workers earn less than minimum wage, with the marginally employed and employees at small businesses being particularly affected –– When one also takes into account workers who are not eligible for a minimum wage, such as freelancers, a total of around ...
06.12.2017
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Press Release
The following study from DIW Berlin examines the effects of different exit scenarios from the European Central bank’s bond purchase program on the European economy – exiting early would especially depress the inflation rate
What if the ECB were to reduce its bond purchase program by more than what it reported at the end of October? What if it reduced its bond holdings quicker or earlier? ...
06.12.2017
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Press Release
On January 1, 2018, Liebig will become director of the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and a member of the institute’s Executive Board
Stefan Liebig, a professor of sociology at Bielefeld University, will succeed Gert G. Wagner as a member of the German Institute for Economic Research’s Executive Board on January 1, 2018. Having reached retirement age, Wagner (64) is relinquishing his position. ...
01.12.2017
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Press Release
Two DIW studies on the partial retirement scheme and raising the normal retirement age: simulations show positive employment effects and fiscal implications
A normal retirement age that increases relative to the rise in life expectancy after 2030 could help keep the funding of the statutory pension insurance scheme stable without the pension level decreasing further. Depending on the scenario, a ...
29.11.2017
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Press Release
The economic barometer of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) once again reports exceptionally strong growth in the final quarter of 2017: the index level increased to 113 points. GDP should thus continue to outperform at a read of 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter. “Caution should be exercised when interpreting the euphoric sentiment indicators,” warns Ferdinand Fichtner, ...
29.11.2017
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Press Release
The R&D expenditure of German companies abroad has more than doubled compared to 2003. At the same time, their domestic investments are increasing sharply – The majority of the investments can be attributed to the automotive engineering and pharmaceutical industries – The share of foreign companies in R&D investments in Germany is sinking.
In recent years, German companies have ...
22.11.2017
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Press Release
Baden-Württemberg, Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, and Bavaria are the leading federal states in the field of renewable energy. That is the result from a comparison of the federal states which was compiled by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung ...
16.11.2017
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Press Release
Nicolas R. Ziebarth (35), a student of the DIW Graduate Center’s first class, was promoted to “Associate Professor with indefinite tenure” in the Department for Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York (USA). Ziebarth’s area of research is applied health and labor economics.
13.11.2017
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Press Release
Boys consider themselves to be more gifted in mathematics than their grades indicate, whereas girls think their language skills are stronger. Differences in students’ self-evaluation of their skills are evident by the fifth grade and remain present throughout higher grades
Boys think higher of their math abilities in school than girls do – to an extent that is not justified by their actual ...
08.11.2017
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Press Release
Small revenue and distribution effects – Overall, slight tax revenue losses due to a period of low interest rates – Raising the final withholding tax rate to over 25 percent would result in moderate additional revenue
Abolishing the final flat-rate 25 percent withholding tax on unearned income makes sense neither from a fiscal nor a distribution point of view as long as interest rates ...
08.11.2017
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Press Release
The youth unemployment is still much higher than the unemployment of those aged 25 years and older – Decrease in unemployment primarily due to a drop in the number of young people and the greater number remaining in education – Political measures against youth unemployment prove ineffective
Although the youth unemployment rate in the EU has plummeted in recent years, it is still difficult ...
02.11.2017
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Press Release
The German economy’s strong upswing continues. At 112 points, the Economic Barometer published by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) continues to signal GDP growth that is well above average: 0.7 percent in the third quarter and 0.9 percent in the fourth. “The German economy is heading toward 2018 at full speed,” said Ferdinand Fichtner, head of forecasting at ...
01.11.2017
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Press Release
Press release of the project group "Gemeinschaftsdiagnose": German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), ifo Institute, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
The German economic upturn has gained both in terms of strength and breadth. In addition to consumer spending, external trade and investments ...
28.09.2017
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Press Release
Press release of the project group "Gemeinschaftsdiagnose": German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), ifo Institute, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
12.04.2017
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Press Release
Technology transfer primary motive behind Chinese OFDI in Western Europe; access to EU internal market motivates OFDI in Central and Eastern Europe; factors influencing investment decisions differ based on type of investment
China’s investment strategy in the EU differs depending on the target country. With investment in Western Europe, the main motivation is gaining access to advanced technologies. ...
05.04.2017
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Press Release
People across Germany are happier today than at any other point since German reunification
According to a new analysis of data from the nationally representative, long-term Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study, people in both West and East Germany have been happier on average since 2015 than at any other point since German reunification (Figure 1). The substantial increase in life satisfaction from 1990 ...
22.03.2017